NASHVILLE, Tenn., Oct 4- A steroid medication linked to the death of at least five people from rare fungal meningitis may have been administered to patients in 23 states, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said on Thursday, raising fears the rare outbreak could spread.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla.-- A private company is headed back to the International Space Station. Forecasters said Thursday there's a 60 percent chance of favorable conditions for the 8:35 p.m. launch from Cape Canaveral. This is the California company's first official launch under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA.

*Next report, for October, just before Election Day. WASHINGTON, Oct 4- President Barack Obama has survived months of lackluster reports on the nation's unemployment with little effect on his approval ratings or his poll lead over Republican rival Mitt Romney, but that could change on Friday.

NEW YORK, Oct 4- A billionaire's lawsuit over wine said to be owned by Thomas Jefferson has died on the vine. A federal appeals court in New York ruled on Thursday that William Koch, the founder of Oxbow Group energy company, had waited too long to file a lawsuit against Christie's auction house.

Two people blinded in Washington, D.C., in 2005. Three dead in Virginia in 2006 and three more in Oregon the following year. Twenty-one dead polo horses in Florida in 2009. Earlier this year, 33 people in seven states with fungal eye infections. Unlike manufactured drugs, these products are not subject to approval by the Food and Drug Administration.

WASHINGTON-- The AFL-CIO says it has registered more than 450,000 new voters from union households over the past 18 months, part of an ambitious push to swell the ranks of Democratic-leaning voters and help President Barack Obama win reelection.

NORFOLK, Va.-- Virginia Port Authority officials are holding a public hearing on proposals to privatize some of the Port of Virginia's operations. The Port of Virginia is the third-largest port on the East Coast. But state officials have been frustrated that it hasn't rebounded from the recession as quickly as its competitors in New York and Savannah, Ga., have.

Eighteen of the cases are in Tennessee, where a Nashville clinic received the largest shipment of the steroid.. Three cases have been reported in Virginia, two in Maryland, two in Florida and one in North Carolina. Two of the deaths were in Tennessee, and Virginia and Maryland had one each, said officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

WASHINGTON-- The White House is going to great lengths to discourage defense contractors from sending layoff warnings to employees in the days before the presidential election, an effort Republicans are denouncing as politically motivated.

WASHINGTON/ LONDON, Oct 3- To win approval for their planned $45 billion merger, EADS and BAE systems must persuade Washington to let a pan-European behemoth control some of the most sensitive U.S. defence contracts, without triggering a political backlash.

Oct 3- American Airlines and its pilots union resumed contract talks Wednesday, but other problems continued to beset the bankrupt carrier. "I will never ride on American Airlines ever again," said Tony Palm, who was stranded when a connecting flight on American from Chicago to New York's LaGuardia airport was canceled last month.

Oct 3- American Airlines and its pilots union resumed contract talks Wednesday, but other problems continued to beset the bankrupt airline. "I will never ride on American Airlines ever again," said Tony Palm, who was stranded when a connecting flight on American from Chicago to New York's LaGuardia airport was cancelled last month.

WASHINGTON, Oct 3- It's a sad, sticky and increasingly common situation: An elderly relative insists on managing his money, but you suspect he's losing his ability to handle that. Roughly 14 percent of people over 71 have some level of dementia, according to the National Institutes of Health.

RICHMOND, Va.-- Virginia wheat and barley production is down this year, while oat production is up. The Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services reports that wheat producers averaged 65 bushels per acre this year, down from last year's yield of 71 bushels an acre.

INDIANAPOLIS-- Campaign cash from outside political groups is flooding into conservative states with close Senate races like Indiana, Arizona and Montana, where residents are more accustomed to local news promos between football games than the relentless, often snarky attack ads.

MINNEAPOLIS-- The Minnesota Orchestra was called the world's greatest not long ago, welcome recognition for musicians based outside a top cultural center. In Minneapolis, the Minnesota Orchestra has already cancelled concerts through Nov. 25 as negotiators argue over a proposal to trim the performers' average salary by $46,000 a year.